Honestly, I'd tell them to fuck off in the nicest way possible. Nothing we do should be given away for free or cheap. We spend our time developing work for other and have the right to be compensated for it. Make sure what you do for them is worth the time and money or else your being overworked and underpaid.

I just read the latest bit you posted about the "portfolio pieces." I would flat out tell them to fuck off. Such complete disrespect.

For our 20th release, we are going to be doing something a little different in regards to our featured artist. We are going to feature the whole artists group, after all without them and their hard work we are nothing.

In respect to this we are looking for questions from you guys and girls! Ask anything you would like to know about our artists, about life in the group, inspiration sources, favorite pieces and so on. We will get various artists from across the group to answer your questions!

You can send us your question by commenting on our DA journal (link), posting on our Facebook page (link) or by tweeting to us (link).

Get the Intuos5 medium and you won't need a cintiq ever. I guess the larger ones are cool but I am completely disappointed with my 12WX I don't use it as a screen because it gets uncomfortable really fast (the screen gets all warm and shitty) And because of that feature I have 5 more cables under my desk. I seriously consider to get rid of it and get an intuos

That's weird man, I just got my cintiq 12wx a few days ago and it's working like a charm, definitely an upgrade to my inutos3. The screen doesn't get very warm for me even after being on all day.

Good to see you got the intuos Kilderden, it's definitely a great product.

Couldn't the agree more. The way they integrated the visual style of the concept art into the game was amazing. I can't wait to see what they do with next-gen hardware.

I don't really play games for the multiplayer anymore (aside from any LAN parties), so I can't comment on the call of duty-ish aspects of that. But I will say that 343 has listened to the feedback regarding Spartan Ops and will no doubt do the same for the multiplayer in the next installment.

Haha, true about the ending, though I'm sure it won't stay like that forever. I actually just started watching Forward Unto Dawn last night while on my Halo high, pretty good so far (only through part 1).

Seriously though, I don't think there has ever been a video game that has been able to affect me as much as Halo 4. It's honestly pathetic in a way, but a great achievement for 343 and how they have been able to connect with this universe and push the limits of Halo and, in my opinion, far exceed what Bungie has been able to do with it in the past (not saying Bungie isn't capable of those things though).

343 just changed the way we view these two characters who are supposed to be anything but human and humanized them to a point that they were the only characters I really cared about (sparing a few, however).

Oh and Alastair, get the game already man! You won't be disappointed at all.

Just completed the Halo 4 campaign not too long ago, still in shock of the ending (won't spoil it for anyone), which was nothing short of amazing in my opinion. The emotions of the characters, especially for both the Chief and Cortana who are supposed to be nothing but machines, was incredible, with the motion capture and voice acting right along there with it.

The overall story arc is pretty simple honestly, but the way 343 did it and incorporated so much was great. Even after all of that, my favorite part were the visuals and art direction. I can't remember playing a game and stopping (literally, I stopped going about the mission) repeatedly to check out the detail and the visuals overall. From the murky atmospheres (which I loved, obviously) to the rocky terrains to the littlest detail of the Chief's armor.

Needless to say it's probably my favorite game ever, which is saying a lot. I just wish I had a fully functioning sound system (one speaker is broken) to experience the audio like it supposed to be.

What are your thoughts on the game and the future of Halo? No spoilers please for those who haven't finished it yet.

Kuldar, his painting is based off a concept sketch done for the Prometheus mattepainting challenge over at mattepainting.org (http://mattepainting.org/vb/showthread.php?t=7596). If I remember correctly, Jadrien's matte was one of those selected to win, which is probably why he chose to base it off of that.

Nothing was stolen, it was just not properly communicated from the artist.

I kinda agree, but kinda disagree... I think the best Sci-Fi is heavily based in fact and just builds on current knowledge and thinks about possibilities... rather than just being all flashy nonsense (which while it can be entertaining, is the sort of thing that gives the genre the bad image it gets).

Absolutely. I wasn't saying it is okay to do in every movie, but every now and then I enjoy a stupid flick that couldn't be anywhere near possible. :D

The thing about facts is that they let little room in for further exploration, which is what scifi is all about. But I fully understand both sides equally.

That's true, but gotta remember that it's a scifi movie and it's supposed to entertain us, not fill our head with a bunch of facts. I'm all for doing things right, but in some cases I really don't give a crap. And if we can look past it, surely they know that the general audience will buy into it 10 times more.

Ben Proctor, Ben Mauro, and Andree Wallin (and couple others I can't remember) are artists working on this, some amazing talent in one film. Some parts from the trailer look pretty cliche, but it looks really good.

Yeah, your renders could use a bit more sampling with aliasing and shadows. Overall your modeling work is great, you just need to figure out how to correct the quality of your renders to match it. Also, read up on lighting (in addition to how to render with more samples), it would really add another level to your work.

Kilerden makes an excellent point. People don't really want to hear about how you think other people get inspired. Everybody wants to have a connection to something they hear or see, so if they are able to connect with your thesis on that level, it will make it more interesting to them and they will enjoy it a lot more.

Like Alastair said, what are you wanting to do with this and what point are you trying to make with your thesis? If you can answer those, you'll have a better understanding of where you want to take it, and we can also help with that information as well.

We all understand the stresses of school, hell, I've been dealing with it all semester long. So we are here to help however possible.

Good to see you back at it again and piece is pretty cool. The integration of the elements is pretty well done, but it could be pushed a lot more. Nice job though man, look forward to seeing more from you.